Breaking Records- The Blue Suit EP
by StormWolf10
Summary: Sixth in the Breaking Records series. With Rose still stuck in an LA hospital and the Doctor withdrawing himself from all contact, it's up to Jack and Donna to shake some sense into him and get him on a flight to America. Oh, and get him out of that damned blue suit he's now insistent on wearing.
1. Track 1

**A/N: New story! This was not a good idea typing this up while watching Broadchurch… O.O**

The Doctor huffed in annoyance, scrunching up the sheet music and tossing it over his shoulder. It missed the bin by several feet, bouncing off the wall and rolling across the floor. He had locked himself away in Rose's bedroom, opting to work there rather than the recording studio. Everything had been kept the same as it had been when Rose was there, except for the bed of course, which the Doctor was sleeping in at night. He'd so far managed to avoid Jack for several days, since Pete had phoned to break the news to them. Pete and Jackie had been great with that. They'd called the Doctor as soon as they'd found out themselves, even though it was three thirty in the morning in London. The Doctor hadn't cared, and had taken the stairs two at a time to wake Jack and tell him. The Doctor had been pretty much incoherent when he'd finally managed to wake Jack, and the confused man had had to carefully pry the phone from his hand and get the information from Pete himself. As it turned out, the doctors had told Pete and Jackie that it was looking increasingly unlikely Rose would wake up. Pete was doing everything he possibly could to stall the doctors until the Doctor and Jack could at least get out to LA to say goodbye to Rose.

"Open up, skinny boy."

The Doctor jumped at the sound of Donna's voice, looking up in shock at the door. There was a loud knock and then Donna was calling through the door again.

"You'll have to come out sometime. You need to eat. Jack called, told me about Rose." There was a pause, and then Donna spoke again "I'm really sorry, Theta. But we're gonna get you to America."

The Doctor took a deep breath, getting to his feet and crossing to the door. He slowly unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a sympathetic-looking Donna leaning against the doorframe.

"How are you holding up?" she asked with a sad smile.

"How do you think?" the Doctor asked, monotone.

"Yeah, sorry, silly question." Donna admitted quietly.

"Why are you here, Donna?" the Doctor questioned after a moment.

"I'm your manager! And, well, I hope at least, I'm your friend." Donna then looked the Doctor over, blinking "Where did you get that suit?"

The Doctor blinked owlishly, and looked down at the blue suit he was wearing with red pinstripes shot through it. He was wearing black socks, but no shoes as he rarely left the house nowadays.

"Had it a while." The Doctor replied "Thought I should get it out again."

"Why?" Donna asked.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Felt right."

**~StormWolf10~**

"He's still wearing that blasted blue suit, you know." Jack announced to Donna on the phone four days later "He only took it off to wash it, and put it straight back on once it was dry."

"We need to get him out of the house." Donna sighed.

"We _need_ to get him to America." Jack corrected quietly "He's writing more bloody music. It's all he does. Sits in her bedroom and writes music. And it's all depressing stuff. Anyone would think that Rose was already dead!"

Jack's attempt at humour fell flat, and he let out a choked sob as he realised what he'd just said.

"Stay there, I'm coming round." Donna announced calmly down the phone.

Jack tried to protest, but Donna had already hung up. He sighed, slumping down to sit on the stairs. He was still in that exact position when, about twenty minutes later, Donna knocked on the front door.

"Thanks for coming," Jack told Donna weakly as he let her into the house "are you sure Lee doesn't mind?"

"It's fine." Donna assured him, smiling "Besides, he's gone out for a game of golf with his brother this afternoon."

Jack led Donna through to the kitchen, methodically boiling the kettle, dropping tea bags into mugs and adding the right amount of milk and sugar before pouring the water in. The entire task was done in silence, and Donna sat at the table, watching him carefully.

"It's alright to be upset about this, Jack." Donna told him quietly when he finally handed her a mug.

The man blinked, taking a seat opposite her.

"Rose is your friend too; you can't tell me you're not hurting." Donna added, watching Jack carefully.

For a split second, she thought he was finally going to crumble, but with a deep, shuddering breath, Jack pulled himself together again, forcing a smile.

"I'm fine, Donna."

"You're not." Donna countered gently, reaching across the table to grasp Jack's hand.

If it weren't the fact that he'd known Donna for a fair while now, Jack would have been shocked at the action. Donna was rather complex, and one minute she could be bellowing orders and scaring even the bravest of men, and the next she was quietly sympathetic and understanding.

"Donna, just drop it."

"No." Donna replied calmly "It's no better for you to bottle this up than it is for Theta to have locked himself in Rose's room."

"Then what am I _supposed_ to do then, Donna?" Jack demanded suddenly, glaring at the woman as he pulled his hand away sharply "One of my best friends is in a coma in America and my other best friend has locked himself in her bedroom, and _there's nothing I can do about it_! We don't know when, if at all, Rose will wake up, and if we don't get to America soon they'll have already taken her off of life-support. I am the only one of us in this house holding it together right now, Donna! Theta hasn't spoken to me for days, and if I allow myself to get too bloody caught up in this grief, if I allow myself to stop and think for even a second that one of my best friends is thousands of miles away _dying _then we might not survive this, me _or_ Theta."

By the time he'd finished, Jack was on his feet, pacing. At some point, he'd thrown his mug on the floor, the entire thing shattering on impact, and he let out an angry sigh, leaning against the kitchen worktop as desperate tears finally began to fall. Donna was at his side the moment she saw the tears, rubbing his back and squeezing his hand reassuringly, hoping beyond hope that he could understand that she was here for him. And, with that, Jack sank to his knees, finally letting his fears and doubts and worries come to the surface as he continued to sob, held safely in Donna's arms.


	2. Track 2

**A/N: Gah! Writing Lee is so difficult... He's such a lovely character, but it makes me feel weird trying to write someone's stutter…**

"It's like he's in mourning. Constantly wearing that bloody blue suit of his." Donna groused bitterly, stabbing at her dinner a little too violently.

"W-well, at l-least it's not bl-black!" Lee joked with a smile.

Donna snorted slightly at that, smiling slightly at her partner.

"Yeah," she conceded quietly "I suppose you're right."

They continued eating in silence, and the meal was almost over before Donna spoke again.

"I'm worried about Jack too. He ended up completely breaking down when I went round today. He's taking it just as badly as Theta, and I didn't even notice!"

"N-not your fault," Lee insisted gently, reaching across the table and squeezing Donna's hand gently "y-you were t-too worried about T-theta."

"But I'm meant to be their manager!" Donna protested "They hired me to keep an eye on them!"

"Y-you're doing everything y-you can t-to get them to America, Donna." Lee reminded her calmly, smiling gently.

Donna sighed, sitting back in her chair.

"I might phone them in a bit, see how they're getting on." Donna murmured, glancing at the clock "I know Jack's going to the pub later, though. I got Ianto to invite him for a drink, get him out of the house for something other than shopping."

**~StormWolf10~**

Donna groaned as she began to wake properly. For a few moments, she just frowned at the darkened ceiling, trying to work out why she had woken up. And then she heard it. Her mobile was ringing. She pushed herself into a sitting position, switching the bedside lamp on and picking up her phone.

"Hello?" she asked tiredly, too tired to bother checking the caller ID.

"Donna! How soon can you get my new EP out?"

"Theta?" Donna asked in confusion, frowning "What EP are you talking about? And why are you phoning me at-" she paused to check the time "three am?"

"The new EP. The one I've been writing." The Doctor replied, as if it were obvious "Hang on, _three_ _am_?"

"Yes, Theta, it's three in the morning." Donna replied testily.

"Oh."

The line went silent for a few moments, and for a split second, Donna thought that he'd maybe hung up.

"So, when can you get the EP out?"

"Theta, I've not even heard _any_ of the music you've been writing." Donna told him with a sigh "And we'll have to sort out the album artwork, and…"

She blinked as the Doctor interrupted her.

"Nah, Mickey's already done the cover for me. It's just getting it out there."

"Right," Donna answered slowly, deciding that it was far too early in the morning for this sort of thing "call me again in a few hours, yeah?"

Then, before the Doctor could object, she hung up and switched her phone off.

**~StormWolf10~**

Much to Donna's reluctance, she gave the all-clear for the EP to be sent out, and it was soon hitting shops. However, many of the radio DJs had gotten there first, previewing the songs on their shows, and it certainly wasn't getting the publicity they wanted it to.

"I have to admit, the Doctor's new 'Blue Suit EP' isn't his best work." One DJ, Elton Pope, announced just days after the EP had been released "I've always been a big fan, but his most recent EP is rather depressing, 'Black and Blue' and 'Unfinished Sentences' in particular."

However, the Doctor remained adamant that the sale of the EP would give them the final budget push they needed to get to America. His Void EP was still on sale too, and according to the Doctor's estimates, he and Jack would be on a plane to LA within the month. Jack and Donna, meanwhile, were quietly sceptical.

"It's not gonna work, Donna." Jack told their manager only a week after the EP had been released.

"I know, but I couldn't talk him out of it, Jack." Donna replied with a sigh "At least this way he feels that he's doing something to try and get you both to America to see Rose."

She paused for a few moments before continuing.

"Any change in Rose?"

Jack shook his head mournfully.

"From what Pete was saying, the doctors are beginning to urge them to decide to turn the support machines off. Pete's been paying for the medical care too, and he's trying to buy us more time, but they're becoming more insistent." Jack explained quietly.

They descended into silence again, which lasted for a few minutes before Donna's curiosity got the better of her.

"So, you've been out for drinks with Ianto, I hear?" Donna questioned.

Jack nodded, blushing slightly.

"Yeah, once or twice, down the pub." Jack replied, feigning unimportance.

"Well, that's good," Donna smiled "You two really seemed to hit it off on the tour."

Jack merely smiled warily in response.


	3. Track 3

**A/N: Starts angsty, gets a little better near the end of the chapter… Read and review :)**

Still clad in his blue pinstripe suit, the Doctor sniffed, looking around the DJ booth.

"Doctor! Good to have you back! And I'm really sorry about Rose. How is she?"

The Doctor blinked, and he was suddenly shaking Adam Mitchell's hand. He gave the man a weak smile.

"She's, uh, she's stable, yeah." The Doctor managed, not really wanting to think about the fact the medical staff in LA were hoping to pull the plug on her any day.

"Good to hear." Adam replied warmly, leading the Doctor over to his seat and handing him some headphones "We're just about ready to get started here, if that's alright?"

The Doctor nodded, and suddenly Adam was talking animatedly into the microphone as his show began.

"And I'm joined here today with none other than the Doctor, ladies and gentlemen! I'll be talking to him about his latest EP and asking him about his recent tour. But first, here's a bit of Muse."

As Muse's Guiding Light began playing, Adam grinned at the Doctor, seemingly oblivious to the man's desire to just go home and curl up in Rose's bed. Soon, the song was drawing to a close, and Adam was leaning close to the microphone again.

"This is Adam Mitchell, and I am joined live in the studio today with the Doctor! Thanks for coming, Doctor,"

The Doctor managed a weak "You're welcome", and cleared his throat, attempting to sound a little more upbeat.

"Now, you recently undertook a small UK tour, yes?" Adam asked cheerily "Only six venues were chosen."

"Yeah, well, we decided to keep it small." The Doctor responded quietly.

"Why is that? You have a large fan base, Doctor, I'm sure you could have packed out several more venues!" Adam replied with a grin.

"I didn't feel like it." The Doctor replied calmly, though his jaw was set "Not without Rose. Maybe when… If Rose gets better, we may look into doing a bigger, longer tour."

"I understand you might not want to talk about it, but how _is_ Rose?" Adam asked warily, unsure the Doctor would answer the question on air.

Sure enough, the Doctor's eyes narrowed, glaring at the man.

"When we know the full extent of what's happening, our manager will release a press article. That is, of course, if Rose's parents agree." The Doctor answered, voice remarkably level given the turmoil he was feeling.

Adam blinked, evidently unsure what to say, and he took a deep breath.

"Right, of course." Adam murmured, before raising his voice and forcing himself to sound cheerful "Now, let's talk about your new EP! The Blue Suit EP hasn't exactly broken records in the charts. Why do you think that is?"

The Doctor shrugged, sighing before scrubbing his hands over his face.

"I don't know. The songs aren't good?" the Doctor asked "I only wrote the EP because, quite frankly, Jack- my drummer- and I can't afford to get back to LA to see Rose. The tour raised some of the money needed, as did the Void EP, but… I was sort of hoping this EP would give us the final cash injection we need to get over to America."

"You're really desperate to get back to Rose, aren't you?" Adam asked, tone soft.

By now, both men had clearly forgotten about the fact they were on air.

"Rose… Rose is in a coma. We found out, ooh, several weeks back that she might not wake up." The Doctor admitted quietly, taking a deep, shuddering breath to stave back the tears "Jack and I need to get back over there. Because she's either gonna wake up or die, but either way, I want to be able to hold her hand when it happens."

**~StormWolf10~**

When the Doctor finally got back to the Guildford house he shared with Jack, Donna, Jack and Ianto were all waiting for him in the hardly-used front room. The Doctor had to do a double-take when he saw Ianto in the front room- not only had he not seen him since the tour, but Jack and Ianto were stood rather close together.

"What's going on?" the Doctor asked slowly, confused.

"The radio show finished hours ago. What took you so long?" Jack asked his friend, annoyance showing through his otherwise-calm exterior.

"I, uh, had something I needed to do." The Doctor explained evasively, tugging at the sleeve of his blue suit.

"You should've been back three hours ago! What did you need to do that took that long?" Donna demanded, hands on her hips.

Ianto was looking rather uncomfortable wedged between Jack and Donna, both of whom were giving the Doctor stern glares.

"Look, it was just something I had to do." The Doctor repeated with a shrug "Something to do with Rose."

Donna's features softened, and Jack's shoulders slumped.

"Umm, guys?" Ianto piped up warily, causing everyone to look at him. At some point, he'd pulled his phone out, and was staring at the touch screen.

"What's the matter, Yan?" Jack asked, frowning as he peered over the man's shoulder to read the screen.

Jack's eyes widened, and the Doctor hurried over as Donna began staring at the phone too.

"Err, Theta," Ianto began cautiously "your EP has just gone from not even being in the top 100 iTunes charts to being number twenty!"

"What?!" the Doctor asked, incredulous.

"It must have started when you were on the radio earlier today." Donna realised.

"Hang on, people have reviewed it…" Ianto told them, scrolling down to read the reviews "'Not the best of the Doctor's albums, but it's surely worth the price if it can get him to America to see Rose Tyler'… 'Wasn't going to buy it, but then I heard him on Adam Mitchell's show this morning.. Knew then that I had to buy it. He seems like a great guy, and obviously cares deeply for Rose. He deserves to be able to say goodbye to her.'"

As they continued to scroll down, the reviews continued, many of them saying that they'd bought it so the Doctor and Jack could get over to LA to be with Rose. The Doctor was still in disbelief, as were Donna and Jack.

"You know what this means, right?" Jack asked quietly, looking up at the Doctor.

The Doctor frowned in confusion, shaking his head. Jack grinned.

"We're going to LA!"


	4. Track 4

**A/N: Final chapter of The Blue Suit EP :) There's a little hint in this chapter that will point towards the outcome of Rose's life… It'll be interesting to see if anyone catches on to it…**

Donna watched as Jack and the Doctor hefted their bags out of the boot of her Honda. She'd agreed to drop them off at the airport so they could fly to LA, and it was finally time for them to head back to see Rose. It had been a long day and a half- the earliest flight they could get to LA as well as being able to book a hotel in America had taken longer than expected. The Doctor had been pacing the room while Jack sat silently on the sofa as Donna and Ianto worked hard to book them flights and accommodation for as soon as possible.

"Have you called Pete?" Jack asked Donna suddenly "Let him know we're on our way?"

Donna nodded, smiling reassuringly.

"I called him once we'd book the tickets, and promised to call him once you've headed into the airport to check in." Donna assured the two men.

The Doctor gave a tight nod and a small smile, before beginning to fiddle with the rucksack he was to carry onto the plane. The man hadn't spoken since they'd left the house, and Jack and Donna weren't sure whether it was good or bad.

"Now," Donna continued, looking at the two men sternly, hands on her hips "call me as soon as your flight gets there, ok? And then again once you've found out what's happening with Rose."

Jack nodded quickly, but the Doctor hadn't appeared to have heard her.

"Go on then, you two," Donna sighed, noticing as the Doctor began to edge towards the entrance of the airport "go get checked in."

The two men were disappearing inside the building before Donna had even finished speaking.

**~StormWolf10~**

Jack wandered around the departure lounge, the Doctor in tow. They still had an hour or two before they could board their flight, and the time wasn't passing any quicker with the fact the Doctor still hadn't spoken. Well, he'd spoken when they'd checked in, but other than that, nothing. He was still wearing that blasted blue suit, too, only this time it was with a burgundy t-shirt rather than shirt and tie. Jack decided that once the Doctor took the suit off again, he was going to burn it so he could never wear it again. The Doctor appeared to be full of nervous energy though, probably fretting about Rose the same as Jack. He was hopping impatiently from foot to foot, causing people to give them a wide berth and Jack to roll his eyes.

"Stop it, Theta." Jack muttered eventually.

The Doctor blinked, stopping and standing dead still, rucksack hanging from one shoulder. He then smiled weakly at Jack, the first contact he'd attempted with his friend since he'd found out that people were actually _buying_ the EP.

"Sorry." He apologised weakly.

Immediately, Jack's shoulders slumped, and he returned the Doctor's smile shakily.

"It's alright. I know you're worried. I am too." Jack admitted quietly.

"I just… I'm desperate for there to be good news when we reach America, but so terrified it won't be…" the Doctor murmured, taking a deep breath.

Jack grimaced.

"There's nothing else we can do, Theta," Jack pointed out sadly "we just have to take a chance and concentrate on getting there. We'll deal with everything else once we're there."

**~StormWolf10~**

Hours later, Jack and the Doctor were stepping off the plane, wincing and stretching their legs. Once at the bottom of the steps, they headed into the airport, passports in hand. It was a long and slow journey through customs, but finally they were collecting their luggage and heading out into the main section of the airport.

"We'll need to grab a taxi and go to the hotel first." Jack reminded the Doctor calmly "I doubt the hospital will like us turning up with suitcases."

The Doctor looked uncertain, but they were soon in the taxi on the way to the hotel. They payed the cabbie and headed inside, checking into the hotel. The Doctor must have just dumped his suitcase in his room and left again, heading straight to Jack's room. Jack was methodically unpacking everything, needing something mundane to do to stop him from panicking about Rose. The Doctor knocked on the door, and Jack answered it. Upon seeing what Jack was doing, the Doctor sighed audibly.

"Can we _please_ just hurry up, Jack?" the Doctor sighed, leaning in the doorway of Jack's hotel room.

"Just let me finish unpacking." Jack replied calmly, glancing over at the Doctor before frowning "And don't you want to take your jacket off? You've been wearing it for hours, you must be boiling!"

The Doctor merely sniffed and shrugged, and Jack blinked at his friend.

"Ok, Theta, take the suit jacket off." He told his friend sternly "You've worn the same suit for weeks now."

"I _have_ washed it!" the Doctor protested, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, but so far today, we've been cooped up on a plane, waited hours to get through customs and crammed into the back of a small American taxi. You must be boiling. _Take it off_."

The Doctor sighed, and reluctantly began peeling the jacket off, tossing it onto the small wooden chair at the desk. He then narrowly avoided being hit by a can of body spray Jack tossed at him, catching it just before it hit him in the face. He smiled gratefully at Jack, using a little of the body spray before tossing the can back. Jack grinned, but the grin quickly slipped when he noticed the Clingfilm taped round the Doctor's right forearm.

"Theta?" he questioned, brow furrowing "What's that on your arm?"

The Doctor's eyes widened immediately, and his left hand went up to rub at the back of his neck.

"We-ell," he began slowly, blushing slightly "I may have gotten another tattoo."

"Of what?" Jack asked in confusion.

Then, Jack's eyes widened when he recalled the Doctor's words from a few days before; _"it was just something I had to do. Something to do with Rose." _

"Oh, Theta, you didn't…" Jack murmured, fearing that the Doctor had gotten a tattoo of something stupid to do with Rose.

The Doctor looked away, eyes fixating on the ceiling, and he sighed before slowly and carefully unwrapping the Clingfilm from his arm. More and more of the tattoo became visible, and Jack gaped at it.

"Theta…" he began quietly, wide-eyed.

"I don't care what you think, Jack, I'm keeping it." The Doctor told him slowly.

"Of course you're bloody keeping it! It's a bloody tattoo!" Jack pointed out incredulously, still staring at the tattoo.

The Doctor flinched slightly, and Jack's features softened.

"It's great, Theta." Jack assured his friend gently, a kind smile on his face.

"You like it, then?" the Doctor asked, glancing down at his tattoo before looking at his friend again.

Jack nodded, smiling.

"It's brilliant." Jack replied honestly.

A grin spread across the Doctor's face at that, the first genuine smile in months, Jack realised with a jolt. His eyes flitted back down to the black ink tattoo now adorning the Doctor's right forearm. It was, quite simply, song lyrics. Extremely fitting, Jack decided, particularly as it was from one of their own songs. Taken from their first full album, the Better With Two album, the Doctor's tattoo simply read _'Because we've proved this journey is better with two, And now I can't imagine my life without you'_. The Doctor suddenly coughed purposefully, causing Jack to jump.

"Can we get going now, then?" the Doctor asked, carefully wrapping the Clingfilm back round his arm and securing it again.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Jack replied, heading for the door.

Soon, they were in the lift, and then they were suddenly outside the hotel, hailing a cab.

"Have you decided what you're gonna do when you get to the hospital?" Jack asked quietly as the Doctor tried and failed to flag down a taxi.

"Of course. I'm going to tell Rose how I feel when she wakes up." The Doctor answered calmly, sticking his arm out as yet another cab drove past.

He groaned in annoyance as it cruised past them.

"And if she doesn't wake up?" Jack asked softly, brow furrowed slightly.

The Doctor blinked, turning to look his friend dead in the eyes.

"Then we'd better get a cab fast." The Doctor replied "Because we could lose her any minute, and I'm not letting her go without telling her I love her."


End file.
